


Of changing people and not-dates

by LeeGale



Series: Ad lunam, ut amica, ut mi stultus [22]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Akechi is OOC, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, How Do I Tag, M/M, Proposals talk, Suicide Attempt, Tbh everyone is probably sorry, how do i tag without giving spoilers?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26110009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeGale/pseuds/LeeGale
Summary: The day of Mishima and Akira's next date arrives, but things don't quite go to plan...
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Mishima Yuuki (one-sided), Kawakami Sadayo/Takemi Tae, Kurusu Akira/Mishima Yuuki, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Mishima Yuuki/Persona 5 Protagonist, Mishima Yuuki/Sakamoto Ryuji
Series: Ad lunam, ut amica, ut mi stultus [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695079
Kudos: 10





	Of changing people and not-dates

A couple of days later, Mishima found himself struggling to focus in his first class of the day. His mind was kinda all over the place, torn between the nightmare he'd been woken up by that morning (the haunting image of Akira, dead, lifeless and so pale never seemed to leave his sleep...), excitement for his date with Akira, anxiety for the date too -they hadn't seen each other face to face since they'd first said they loved each other! Sure, they'd said it over text and call since, but they hadn't yet in real life!- and what he and Akira could bake... So, it was just his luck that someone he really, _really_ didn't want to deal with walked into the room, not even ten minutes into the lesson...

"Hello, everyone," Akechi greeted, smiling charmingly as he moved to the front of the room, "I'm sorry I'm late, I ran into some issues along the way..."

Mishima internally screamed when Akechi met his eye, but he hid that behind a cool glare. The detective visibly flinched but forced himself to press on, explaining, "As your teacher may have told you, I am here to run your class again. I hope that won't be an issue..."

There was a conflicted ripple throughout the room, some people happy to see Akechi whereas others were angry because of what had happened the last time he'd been at school... Mishima felt kinda... happy, that at least some of his classmates supported him, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he grabbed a pen and started to doodle on a spare piece of paper, half-paying attention so he wouldn't get in trouble, but not caring enough to give Akechi all of his thought. He did have a date to plan, after all...

"Anyway, today you will spend the first half of the day working on group projects, and after lunch, you will finalise your projects and showcase them for the class. Before I explain what the projects are, however, you need to get into groups of two to four..." Akechi's voice carried throughout the room, making Mishima pause. He... Oh, that sucked. He didn't have anyone who would want to work with him and he'd be forced to join a random group and-

"Mishima!" Takamaki greeted, beaming at him and suddenly appearing by his desk, "Do you want to work together?"

"I... Sure?" Mishima replied, shaky. He hadn't expected that... Although, he could _technically_ probably say they were friends, so it made sense. Kinda... He forced himself to ignore his thoughts in favour of grabbing his pencil case, his paper and his book, standing and following Takamaki over to her desk without a word. The sight of Akira's desk, barren and alone, made something in Mishima ache, but he ignored that in favour of listening to Takamaki when she began to speak.

"You can sit in Akira's seat!" she suggested, grinning, and Mishima stopped in his tracks. It felt... weird, to do that, but it did make sense... Sighing, he nodded in agreement, taking a seat at the desk (and remembering what had happened the last time he'd sat there) as Takamaki turned her chair and sat too. Once they were both settled, Takamaki was quick to ask, "So, do you have any plans for after school?"

Mishima hesitated at that. He couldn't exactly say he had a date with Akira set up, not with Akechi in the room... So, instead, he smiled and half-lied, "I'm going to do some baking. When I can choose a recipe, that is..."

Something akin to recognition flashed through Takamaki's eyes as she nodded minutely, smiling secretively as she hummed in understanding. Mishima nodded back, just as small, as Takamaki suggested, "Why don't you try cookies? You can make any kind! Maybe... chocolate, would be good? Or chocolate chip?"

For a long moment, Mishima considered the ideas. They could be good, and even romantic if he and Akira made them heart-shaped... Nodding to himself, he smiled and replied, "Perfect! I could-"

Of course, that was when he was cut off, Akechi's voice a little on the loud side as he called out, "Okay everyone, settle down..."

Once silence had fallen, the detective smiled charmingly (with his eyes laser-focused on Mishima, but the bluenette just glared back at him before doodling quietly) as he stated, "Okay, good... For the project you will be working on, you need to work together to examine the brief I will give you. Each group will have a different brief, so please focus on the one I give your group."

With that, Akechi began to walk through the desks, handing a piece of paper out to each group. When he got to Takamaki and Mishima, he opened his mouth to speak, but Mishima cut him off by grabbing their paper and focusing on it. When that didn't get Akechi to leave, Mishima sighed and glared up at him, silent. For a split-second, Akechi seemed to hesitate, but he eventually gathered up whatever courage he needed and pushed out, "I... I must apologise, Mishima, for-"

"Fuck off," Mishima cut him off, his glare darkening when Akechi tried to argue, "Get back to teaching. Now."

"I-"

"I _said_ , fuck. Off," Mishima growled low in his throat, but, unfortunately, that had the opposite effect than what he wanted. Instead of looking cowed or upset, Akechi blushed brightly, shifting in his spot and watching Mishima with wide, dark eyes... Mishima couldn't help but scowl at that, rolling his eyes and muttering, "Just leave me alone. I can't deal with your bullshit..."

Akechi visibly hesitated before taking a deep breath and reaching out, looking ready to touch Mishima... Of course, he didn't get the chance, because the bluenette in question glared at him and smacked his hand away, all but snarling, "Try to fucking touch me again and I will fucking _destroy_ you. And not in whatever kinky way your thinking, you pervert."

"I-"

"Mishima said to leave him alone. So go," Takamaki's voice cut through Akechi's as she glared at him, eyes dark with protective rage. Akechi flinched at that, but finally, _finally,_ left... As soon as the detective moved onto the next group, Mishima glared down at the paper he held, only to frown at the task they'd been given...

"What do we have to do?" Takamaki asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the task. Mishima hesitated before handing the paper over to her, considering their options. As Takamakiu read, Mishima was struck by an idea. And it just happened to be perfect... When Takamaki was finished reading, Mishima relayed his idea to her, smirking. Takamaki blinked in surprise at the sheer... pettiness of the plan before smirking too, murmuring, "This'll be fun..."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

For the rest of class, up until lunch, the pair worked furiously, getting through most of their project. All they needed to after lunch was transfer their info into a PowerPoint and double-check it... Of course, as soon as the bell rang to signal the start of lunch, Akechi called Mishima's name, in an attempt to get his attention. And, of course, Mishima completely ignored him, telling Takamaki to go on ahead, gathering his things and heading to his desk to grab his bag. Unfortunately, though, he wasn't quick enough to put everything away, and found Akechi suddenly by his side...

"Mishima, I-"

"I am _this close_ to seeing if I can get a restraining order against you, Akechi," Mishima cut him off, glaring, as he pulled his bag onto his shoulder. That didn't dissuade Akechi, though, since the detective frowned but tried to talk again. Mishima didn't let him, obviously, preferring to turn on his heel and walk away. Regrettably, Akechi followed, trying to talk to Mishima and keeping by his side until Mishima finally lost his temper... He twirled around, glaring up at Akechi when they were still in the middle of a hallway and surrounded ny other people. For some reason, Akechi smiled at that, opening his mouth to continue talking, but Mishima cut him off with a tired, "I swear to whatever damned deity might be out there, if you don't stop being such creep, Akechi, I will fucking _ruin_ your life. I will tell the world about how much of a fucking bastard you are, I will post proof of you fucking _stalking_ me, I will dox you. No one will ever respect you again. You will lose your position as detective. You might even go to fucking jail..."

"Mishi-"

"Did I stutter?" Mishima ground out, ignoring the flash of sympathy he felt when Akechi flinched. He hated the detective with every inch of his being, but he hated being the reason that _anyone_ looked so sad even more... He didn't have long to dwell on that, though, since Akechi sighed and nodded.

"I... I suppose I'll see you after lunch..." the detective murmured, leaving before Mishima had the chance to say anything else. It was only then that Mishima realised that they'd had an audience... He flustered under the combined gazes of everyone near him, shrinking in on himself and rushing away. Surprisingly enough, no one tried to stop him, and he soon found himself at his usual spot...

His friends were already there, minus Ryuji, and he relaxed. They were safe for him to be around... Smiling minutely, he nodded at them before settling into his little nook, leaning back into it and pulling out his lunch. He'd only grabbed something small on his way to school (something the others noticed but didn't pull him on), so he finished eating before Ryuji was there. Something about that didn't sit right with Mishima, though. After all, Ryuji was rarely later than a few minutes... Before he really had the chance to worry, though, Ryuji suddenly appeared, blushing and beaming. That made Mishima raise a curious eyebrow, something Ryuji picked up on as he blushed darker before stuttering out, "S... Sorry, I'm late! I... Yusuke called me..."

Mishima couldn't help but smile at that. They were such a cute couple... As everyone else began to chat around him, Mishima was distracted by his phone vibrating in his pocket. He frowned, unsure as to who would be texting him, only to smile when he read who it was... He clicked on Akira's text, only for his frown to return in full force.

**Akira: Ann told me Akechi is there. And that you're angry at him.**

_Me: ...He is. And of course I'm angry at him! After everything that happened..._

**Akira: We talked to him last night. He helped save our lives.**

Mishima froze at that. He... What? That... That didn't make sense! Akechi was... He was evil! He'd hurt Akira so much and he'd practically stalked Mishima and-

**Akira: I know you don't believe me, but he did. I'll tell you more later.**

_Me: What happened, Akira?_

**Akira: I promise, I'll explain later.**

Something akin to anger flared in Mishima, surprising him. It... After all Akechi had done, Akira was just going to be okay with him? He was just going to play nice? He-

**Akira: Yuuki, trust me. I promise I'll explain everything when I get to yours, okay? Just trust me. Please.**

Mishima took a deep, calming breath. He didn't have a choice but to trust Akira on this. He had no idea what had happened, he had no idea what had changed, he had no idea what was different... So, instead of arguing, he sighed and texted back...

_Me: I trust you, love. But don't expect me to be nice to him._

**Akira: I don't Yuuki. Thank you.**

_Me: You better make it up to me on our date._

Only once the text was sent did Mishima realise how flirty that seemed... He blushed, torn between embarrassment and worry. He... He wasn't an idiot, he knew that there was plenty of sexual tension between him and Akira, but he also didn't want to push. He knew Akira wasn't ready (even if he had admitted to wanting to kiss him...) and he couldn't make the taller teen uncomfortable. He just couldn't... And, sure, they'd flirted loads before, especially when Mishima was trying to see if Akira liked him, but now they were actually dating and he didn't know how Akira felt about the flirting and he was worried and-

**Akira: Oh really? How would I do that?**

Mishima's brain shut down. He... Well, Akira was flirting with him. He... Oh God, he had no idea what to say. He hadn't expected Akira to flirt back, so he was completely out of his depth. He... He had no idea-

"Hey, Yuuki!" Ryuji's voice caught Mishima's attention, pulling him from his spiral as the blonde asked, "Are you chatting to your boyfriend?"

For some reason, that made Mishima blush and splutter, but he got his point across, so Ryuji smirked and stated, "Awesome! He said you two have a date tonight."

"I... Uh... Yeah. We... We're going to bake together..." Mishima replied, smiling shyly as his heart sped up. He felt _something_ warm settle in his gut at the idea that Akira talked to other people about him. He really liked knowing Akira liked -no, loved- him that much...

"That's adorable!" Okumura squealed, clasping her hands together with a wistful smile, "I'd love to go on a date like that..."

Mishima blushed brightly, but wasn't too distracted to take note of the way Makoto examined Okumura, seemingly thinking... He smirked, unable to help himself, but quickly had his attention stolen by his phone vibrating in his hand...

**Akira: Yuuki? You okay?**

**Akira: Did I push too much?**

Mishima's heart fluttered at how freaking sweet his boyfriend was, smiling softly as he typed out a swift response...

_Me: I'm fine!_

_Me: Sakamoto just dragged me into a quick convo._

_Me: Ryuji, not Sakamoto (I'm still getting used to using his given name...)_

_Me: And to make it up to me... We'll see when you come round._

The flirty undercurrent of that final text almost made Mishima throw his phone, ready to hide in a bush, but he forced himself to stay where he was. After all, Akira had flirted back...

**Akira: We'll see, huh? Curious...**

**Akira: I have to go, Futaba wants to hang out. See you later?**

_Me: Of course! See you later Akira._

As Mishima went to put his phone away, the sight of three little dots danced at the corner of his screen, making him pause. He wondered what else Akira had to say...

**Akira: See you then. I love you xxx**

Mishima almost threw his phone again, squeaking softly and blushing brightly as he reread Akira's text. Sure, after they'd first said it two days prior, they'd said it over text and call a couple of times, but it still made Mishima melt into a pile of mush. He... God, he loved Akira so much...

_Me: I love you too, baby. See you in a couple of hours. Xxx_

As soon as the message was sent, he saw that is was read, but when no further texts came, Mishima put his phone away. His cheeks were still burning and a smile still tugged at his lips, but he didn't care. He was too busy thinking about Akira, about seeing him again, about telling him he loved him to his face... He couldn't wait for their date, he- The bell suddenly ringing almost made him flinch, but he reigned in his reaction just in time. He did have to take a second to calm his racing his heart, though, but he was able to gather himself quickly enough, and he soon found himself walking back to class with Takamaki. It was quiet at first, both teens happy to let the silence linger, but Takamaki eventually shattered the bubble...

"I... If I were to ask someone out, how... How would you suggest I should?" she asked quietly, shakily, and Mishima blinked at her. She seemed... nervous, almost, and Mishima forced himself to actually consider his words. He... He actually had no idea. With Yuuri, it had been a natural progression from friends to something more. And with Akira, it had been jealousy and loads of flirting, and even then Mishima had no idea how it had happened...

"I... I don't know..." he admitted after a moment's consideration. Takamaki gaped at him before pouting and pointing out that he had a boyfriend. That drew a chuckle from him, soft and fond, before he murmured disbelievingly, "Just because I'm dating Akira doesn't mean I know _how_ it happened. It just... You know how we got together... It wasn't exactly... normal circumstances..."

Takamaki's pout deepened as she muttered something about needing help, and Mishima paused to consider who she could have liked. The list was pretty limited, maybe just Ryuji (who she wouldn't have asked out because he was dating Yusuke), Makoto (who Takamaki had already said she wanted to set up with Okumura, so that couldn't be it) or Suzui- Oh. That had to be it... Of course, they got back to class before he could say anything else. They were both quiet as they moved to where they'd been sitting before lunch, only speaking after the register had been taken. And even then, it was Mishima who spoke up first, smirking and all but whispering, "Flowers are probably a good start. Or a small present... And you can never go wrong with a well-written love letter."

Takamaki paused, taking a moment to register Mishima's words, but he cut her off before she could talk, suggesting they got on with their work...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A little while later, it was time for Mishima and Takamaki to present their project. As they stood at the front of the room, silently waiting for their classmates to quieten down, Mishima felt his heart-rate increase. He... He was going to mess up and embarrass himself and it'd be a mess and-

"Alright, everyone!" Takamaki beamed at the class as soon as they were silent, taking the lead and sending Mishima a reassuring glance, "For our brief, we were asked to do a psychological profile of anyone we wanted. So, we decided to choose... Akechi! We will discuss and present evidence for our profile, but please remember that neither of us are actual profilers, so we may be mistaken in some areas..."

Akechi's eyes widened at the mention of his name, only to narrow as he watched Mishima and Takamaki with barely concealed curiosity and concern... Mishima ignored the way he wanted to run away from Akechi's gaze in favour of smiling, clicking onto the first slide of the PowerPoint and forcing out, "F... First, we will examine the public p... persona Akechi portrays for most people. As... As you are probably aware, Akechi seems completely ch... charming and polite, yet confident, almost arrogant, in his pubic interviews... However, that is not who he truly is. In the eyes of other people, Akechi is almost painfully charming, cultured and almost perfect in a way that no one can really be. This may be presumptuous of us, but Takamaki and I have come to the conclusion that Akechi is this way because he, figuratively, wears a mask at all times..."

"People are often more affected by what happens around them than Akechi ever appears to be, so it is easy to assume that he hides his emotions behind a facade he has perfected over many years," Takamki picked up where Mishima had left off, her smile growing when Akechi's eyes narrowed further, "Now, there are many reasons he could have created this disguise, but the most likely is a need to have control. You see, everyone has different 'masks' they wear in different scenarios, and you can learn a lot about a person based on their masks. In Akechi's case, the seemingly perfect person he pretends to be is his mask, and probably stems from a lack of control. At least, according to Mishima..."

Mishima nodded at Takamaki, smiling just the tiniest bit and clicking onto the next slide, which included some evidence from a thesis Mishima's dad had written once. He hated having to rely on his father, but he had been one of the best in his field... Ignoring that, Mishima began to explain.

"According to the research of one Mishima Aku," the mention of Mishima's father earned a wave of murmurs, but the blue teen pressed on, "people who wear seemingly perfect facades, such as Akechi, are more likely to have an incessant need to be in control, which often stems from a complete lack of it in childhood. This lack of control can be caused by many things, but in Akechi's case, we believe it likely was caused by the fact that he is an orphan. This may be... harsh, and we do not wish to upset you, Akechi, by bringing up the past, but it is important for our profile..."

"It... It's fine. I understand..." Akechi replied, although his voice was shaky. Some small part of Mishima felt guilty for bringing this up (he had done pretty extensive research on Akechi after they'd first met, and had made sure to keep learning new things as time passed...), but it was also almost like sweet revenge...

"In that case, we believe Akechi's status as an orphan -particularly as one who suffered at the hands of Japan's failure of a childcare system- led directly to the persona he has created to wear in public..." as Takamaki continued the presentation, Mishima made sure to keep a close eye on Akechi, judging his reactions to what they said...

Eventually, they finished their presentation. Somehow, over the course of twenty minutes, they'd managed to touch on everything from Akechi's rough childhood and not only how that had created his mask, but also how it had led to him having issues actually connecting to people, which was what had made him so obsessed with Mishima... At that, some people (*cough*Ito*cough) had tried to make Mishima seem like he was lying and was being big-headed, but Akechi had actually stepped in there, defending Mishima and saying he wasn't exactly wrong... That wasn't even all Mishima and Takamaki covered, going into detail about Akechi's interesting superiority/inferiority complex and explaining that it probably stemmed from both being told he'd never amount to anything (from the homes he'd been in as a child) and from the pressure he faced for being a child genius, and examining his need to be the centre of attention...

Once the presentation was done, there was a long moment of quiet (during which Mishima's anxiety jumped up to eleven) before the entire class applauded, very obviously impressed... Although, none of them were more impressed than Akechi, who smiled minutely and walked over to them, stating, "That was incredible, Mishima, Takamaki. No one has ever examined me so accurately..."

"We tried," Takamaki beamed before suggesting the next group had their turn. Akechi agreed, so Mishima and Takamaki walked back to their seats (well, Akira's for Mishima, but eh), smiling and being congratulated on a great presentation as they went... Once they were sat down, they remained silent, and stayed that way as the rest of the groups did their thing. When everyone was done, there were only twenty minutes until the end of the day, so Akechi smiled at the class and spoke up.

"Alright, everyone! I'm going to hand out a small piece of paper to each of you. Write whichever presentation you think did best and your name so that I know you didn't cheat on it. Whoever has the most votes will win a surprise prize!" he explained, and Mishima couldn't help but perk up curiously. He knew he and Takamaki probably didn't stand much of a chance of winning, but he did kinda wanna know what the prize was... So, as Akechi began handing out the papers, Mishima turned to Takamaki and asked who she thought had been the best. She seemed to consider it for a moment but eventually replied...

"Aki and her team's speech about inequality in the face of the law, probably..." she stated, and Mishima nodded in agreement. It had been an excellent speech, with plenty of evidence to reinforce it... He told Takamaki as much, earning himself a bright smile. However, that beam became a much more devious smirk quickly, as Takamaki faux-casually asked, "So... Have you profiled any of us? You know, me or Ryuji or any of the others?"

Mishima froze at that. He... He hadn't exactly _profiled_ any of them, but he did have files in his head on all of them... He hesitated before shaking his head, stating, "No. I've taken note of some stuff about all of you, but I haven't profiled you."

"Oh? Can you give me an example?" Takamaki pressed, smirking and leaning forward. Mishima thought about it for a moment, considering his words, before sighing and replying.

"Um... For you, I've noticed that you're a pretty flirty and cheerful person, and that that's probably a result of the fact that you were seen as a social outcast for so long? Like, it's your mask, to protect yourself and keep people from being able to see a more vulnerable side to you... But I could be wrong..." he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as Takamaki watched him with wide eyes. She seemed... surprised, by his assumptions, but was quick to smile.

"I... Wow, Mishima! That's amazing!" she praised, beaming. Mishima couldn't help but blush and mumble about it not really being impressive, but he was cut off by Akechi suddenly appearing by their desks. The detective seemed... torn, for lack of a better word, as he put their papers on Akira's desk and lingered. Mishima, for once, wasn't aggressive towards him, simply raising a curious eyebrow. Akechi visibly hesitated before sighing and grounding himself...

"I... I wanted to apologise, for how I've treated you, Mishima. It... It was completely unacceptable and I understand why you hate me. I... I'm sorry..." his voice shook on the final sentence as he let his head drop, his eyes shut and entire body tense, almost as if he were bracing himself for a hit... He seemed completely genuine, which made Mishima pause. The complete change he'd had, along with Mishima's mind reminding him that Akechi had apparently helped save Akira and his friends, made the bluenette consider him properly. It seemed real...

"I... I don't know if I can accept your apology," Mishima stated, his own voice shaking. That made Akechi visibly slump as he murmured an understanding and start to walk away, but Mishima stopped him with a faux-confident, "But! I might. In the future. If you are really sorry..."

Akechi whirled around, smiling small but bright as he exclaimed, "I... I am!"

"Then... I guess we'll see. Some other time..." Mishima replied, smiling just the tiniest bit. Despite the anger that still burned in his gut, he knew he needed to do this, for Akira... Akechi didn't know that, though, and beamed, looking younger than he ever seemed to, and Mishima said, "You should continue with the class..."

Akechi nodded, sending Mishima one last smile before moving onto the next group. Of course, as soon as he was gone, Takamaki gaped at Mishima and asked incredulously, "What was that?"

"... A little birdie told me something about him at lunch that made me a little... nicer to him..." Mishima replied, shrugging and looking down at his paper. He was quick to write down his favourite group and his name, looking up when Takamaki made an understanding noise. She didn't say anything else, though, so they remained quiet until they'd both filled in their papers. Then, Takamaki took them up to the desk to be counted, returning quickly. For a moment, neither of them spoke, but eventually, Mishima broke the silence by asking, "Do you have any plans for after school?"

"Ryuji, Yusuke, Futaba and I are meeting up to have dinner together! Although, it's mostly so Futaba and I can tease the boys..." Takamaki replied, giggling, and Mishima laughed along with her. He made some comment about them being a pretty cute couple, which earned him a hum of agreement before Takamaki smirked and stated, "Well, I know of a much cuter couple..."

Mishima blushed brightly at that, catching onto her meaning and groaning into his hand. That made her chuckle, changing the topic by starting to babble about how cute Ryuji and Yusuke were together. Relaxing, Mishima smiled and agreed with her. They were really good together... 

A few minutes later, Akechi called for quiet, so the entire class fell silent as he smiled at them. Once it was quiet, the detective called out, "Thank you, everyone. We have counted up the votes, and the group with the best presentation is... Mishima and Takamaki!"

Mishima couldn't hold back the confused noise that crept up his throat at that, frowning. He... That... What? He-

"Bullshit!" Ito yelled, jumping to his feet as his chair screeched across the floor, "You fucking messed with the numbers because you want to fuck Mishima!"

That... actually seemed more realistic than their classmates voting for _Mishima_ to win... But Ito didn't need to just say it, that was just rude. He-

"If you don't believe me, would everyone who voted for Mishima and Takamaki raise their hands?" Akechi smirked, but Mishima was a little distracted dying inside because of how many people raised their hands. It was over half the class... That made Ito growl, but he flopped back into his seat, clearly not arguing against that... Mishima could barely believe it, though, so was kinda out of it when Takamaki stood up from her seat. He didn't ask any questions as he followed her to the front of the room, remaining silent as Akechi smiled at them and stated, "For your incredible work, you each get... a meal for two at the Sky Tower restaurant!"

Mishima blinked in surprise at that, raising an impressed eyebrow as Akechi gave him and Takamaki their prizes. He couldn't help but imagine taking Akira there on a date... Takamaki smirked at him, probably already aware of his plan, and thanked Akechi with a bright, "This is amazing! Thanks!"

Mishima echoed Takamaki with a small smile, which earned him a bright blush from Akechi before the detective cleared his throat and called out, "Thank you all for today. The bell shall ring in a moment or so, so please pack everything away, and when the bell goes, you may leave."

Mishima didn't hesitate to go back to Akira's desk, packing away his pencil case and books before carefully slipping his meal tickets into a side pocket. He wanted to protect them, so he and Akira could actually have that date... However, minutes before the bell rang, Akechi walked over and quietly asked, "May we talk?"

Mishima froze. He... He was supposed to be nice to Akechi, for Akira's sake, and he did feel some sympathy to the older teen, because of his past, but he didn't know if he could deal with talking to just him... Sighing, he shook his head. Akechi visibly deflated at that but didn't argue, preferring to nod and murmur, "Of course. I suppose I'll see you around, Mishima..."

With that, the detective left, but a nasty taste lingered at the back of Mishima's tongue. Which he didn't understand. He hated Akechi! He was only being civil because of Akira (he may have said he wouldn't be, but dammit, Akira said the guy _saved his life_ , he felt like he owed him something), so why did it matter? Why did he care that he'd upset Akechi? Why- Oh. Akechi kinda reminded him of himself. That was probably it... They'd both suffered at the hands of shitty adults, abused in a way that was different to, say, Futaba's abused past. They both latched onto people. They both-

The bell ringing drew Mishima back to the present. Right. He had stuff he needed to do. He couldn't just stand around thinking... So, instead of that, he sighed and forced himself to worm his way through the swarms of students. He had to do some shopping before he could get home...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Mishima was still putting away his shopping when Akira got to his house, so he told his boyfriend to chill in the living room as he finished up. Of course, Akira refused to just sit around, so he ended up helping anyway... As soon as everything was put away, Mishima made them both drinks (a cuppa for himself and a mocha for Akira) before suggesting they moved to the living room to talk. Akira agreed, so they soon found themselves sat on opposite ends of Mishima's couch, watching each other closely. Mishima... He honestly had no idea where to start. He wanted -no, _needed-_ to know what had happened with Akechi, but what could he say? What could he ask? What would he understand? What-

"Do you remember when we mentioned the Metaverse before?" Akira asked suddenly, shattering the silence. Mishima frowned, taking a moment to see what he could remember before nodding gingerly. He could vaguely recall when they talked about how Morgana wasn't a real cat... That seemed to be enough for Akira, who pressed on by explaining, "Well, people who have particularly distorted desires have what we call 'Palaces', a place they have subconsciously created. To change someone with a Palace's heart, we need to steal a treasure -the core of their desires. That's why we have to send some calling cards, if a Palace owner doesn't receive a calling card, we can't steal their treasure..."

When Akira trailed off, Mishima frowned. That didn't explain his earlier texts... Sighing, the bluenette moved until he was right next to Akira, downing the last of his coffee so he could put his cup on the coffee table and grab Akira's hand. That seemed to startled Akira, but he was quick to relax, taking a deep breath and continuing, "Night before last, we sent Shido his calling card, you know, the video we posted? Anyway, after that was sent, we went into his Palace yesterday. But, whilst there, we ran into Akechi..."

Again, Akira seemed unsure what to say so, ignoring his own confusion and concern, Mishima untangled their fingers and cupped Akira's cheek, quietly murmuring, "What did he do?"

"He... He monologued about his life, his past, how Shido is his father..." that little bit of information made Mishima gasp, but Akira pressed on, "He ranted about how I have better relationships than he had ever had -making a point of mentioning you, and how you want me, not him...- and seemed like he wanted to fight us. He almost did, in the end, but... I told him that if he hurt me, _truly_ hurt me, you'd hate him. That made him falter. He... He actually likes you, a lot... He went on to complain about how unfair life had always been, how he wanted to ruin Shido, but before he could say too much, we... We were attacked by Shido's cognition of him."

Mishima must have made some sort of face at the unknown word (he had a vague idea of what a cognition was, but not in this context) because Akira purposefully explained, "Each Palace owner has different cognitions of the people around them, sort of how they see that person. Cognitions can be pretty dangerous..."

Panic flashed through Mishima at that, but Akira was oblivious and continued on, "Shido's Akechi cognition was pretty strong, so he... He almost defeated us. He was pretty close to killing us, too, but... Akechi shot him from behind, killing him. He saved our lives... He helped us fight every other enemy we faced on the way, helped us steal the treasure, and helped defeat Shido's shadow -that is, the embodiment of his evil desires. When all was said and done, he... Akechi ran away. We couldn't find him at first, but eventually we did. He... He was on a bridge, ready to jump off of it. He was going to commit suicide..."

Mishima couldn't help but think back on earlier, when he'd thought that he and Akechi were similar. It seemed like he'd been more right than he'd known...

"We managed to talk him off of the edge, and he told us even more. About everything he's done, about why he did it, about all he's been through. It... We realised that he isn't a bad guy, per say, more like someone lashing out an unfair world that has hurt him at every turn..." Akira's voice shook as he stared at some point over Mishima's shoulder, not really seeing him, "So we decided to help him. We told him we won't turn him in for his crimes if he tries to change. He tried to convince us to just let him die, but we wouldn't. We _couldn't_... So, instead, we're working with him to help him become a better person. It... It'll be hard, but he saved our lives, even though he hated us. And he... He reminds me of you... I know you probably find that insulting, but-"

"I get it, Akira," Mishima cut Akira off with a soft chuckle, "I... I was thinking that, actually..."

Akira blinked in surprise before smiling, finally focusing on Mishima and murmuring, "I thought you'd be angry. After all he's done..."

"He saved your life, love. Sure, I hate his guts, but... If you really want me to, I... I can try? To be nice to him?" Mishima replied, gently rubbing the skin under Akira's eye. Akira seemed gobsmacked for a moment, but was quick to smile, muttering that he did want that as he curled his arms around Mishima's waist and pressed their foreheads together softly. That earned him a pleased hum from his blue boyfriend as Mishima relaxed into the embrace. He... Mishima still didn't like Akechi, but he supposed he could try, for Akira... He- A sudden thought made Mishima tense, pulling away with a frown as he rushed to ask, "Wait, does that mean you're free to go? As soon as Shido confesses?"

"I should be," Akira replied, smiling softly, and Mishima beamed. That was... That was awesome! He... As soon as Shido confessed, Akira would be free! He'd be okay! He- Akira chuckling made Mishima blink, tilting his head to the side curiously as his boyfriend grinned at him and murmured, "As soon as this is all cleared up, I'm going to take you on the best date I can, Yuuki..."

That reminded Mishima of his prize from class as he gasped, pulling away from Akira and grabbing his bag. That earned him a confused noise from his boyfriend, so he explained as he pulled out the tickets, "While Akechi was at school, he had us get into groups and do presentations. The rest of the class said Takamaki and mine was the best so we won meal-for-two tickets for the Sky Tower Restaurant! I was thinking we could use the ticket to go on a date! If you want to, that is..."

"That sounds good," Akira smiled, taking the tickets from Mishima to examine them, only to put them on the table. Mishima tilted his head at that, but before he had the chance to say anything, Akira grabbed his arm and tugged him onto the couch, clambering onto his lap and cuddling into his chest. It made him tense for a split-second, but he was quick to relax, curling his arm around Akira's waist and resting his chin on the taller teen's shoulder.

"Everything okay there, sweetheart?" he murmured, squeezing Akira slightly. The younger teen muttered something about just wanting cuddles, and Mishima couldn't help but smile. He could handle that... Relaxing, he let Akira get comfortable (which, in the end, meant that Akira was happily straddling his lap and resting his forehead on his shoulder) before quietly asking, "Do you want to stay like this for a bit before we bake?"

Akira nodded, nuzzling into Mishima's collarbone and humming a pleased note. Something about how... soft Akira was in that moment made Mishima's heart skip a beat. His boyfriend was too fucking cute... For a long moment, they remained like that, happy to just cuddle, but eventually Akira pulled away. He didn't go far, though, preferring to just lean back and stretch. The action made his t-shirt lift slightly, giving Mishima a perfect view of his exposed abdomen. And damn... Mishima gulped, blushing brightly and forcing his eyes up to Akira's, only to see his boyfriend smirking. That made him flush even brighter and open his mouth, ready to apologise, only to be cut off when Akira wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Akira's smirk grew as he murmured, "So, Yuuki... What are we baking?"

"I... I was thinking cookies?" Mishima forced out, voice a little breathless because Akira had decided to move impossibly closer and play with his hair. Something akin to hunger danced in Akira's eyes, and something told Mishima it wasn't cookies he wanted... The bluenette's hand shook as he moved it, letting it rest on Akira's waist as he stared up at his boyfriend. He... He had no idea what was happening. It... It almost seemed like Akira wanted to kiss him... He- Akira slowly leaning forward, eyes completely focused on Mishima's lips made the older teen's breath catch. He... _Oh._ Akira was going to-

"Hey, Yuuki?" a sudden voice echoing down the hall shattered the moment as Kawakami opened Mishima's front door, "I know I usually text before I come over, but I have something I need to talk to you about and- Oh! Am I interrupting?"

As soon as Mishima realised the picture he and Akira must have painted (both blushing as Akira straddled Mishima's lap), he turned a bright crimson and spluttered. Although, he clearly wasn't the only one who felt embarrassed, since Akira's cheeks became an unfairly pretty pink as he ducked his head to hide his face in Mishima's shoulder... For a moment, it was completely silent, two parts mortified and one part teasing, until Mishima groaned and buried his face in Akira's hair, grumbling, "Why? Why can't I just have one date with my boyfriend without _someone_ embarrassing us?"

That startled a chuckle out of Akira, who still hadn't bothered to move, and made Kawakami laugh uproariously. Mishima couldn't help but pout at that, moving just enough to glare at his aunt and mutter, "What do you want?"

Kawakami instantly sobered up then, a hint of nerves to her as she began to fiddle with something in her pocket. The anxiety rolling off of her as she moved to sit on one of Mishima's armchairs made the teen frown, but he clearly wasn't the only one who picked up on her mood. Akira seemed to too, slipping off of Mishima's lap so he could cuddle into the bluenette's side as Kawakami forced out, "I wasn't expecting Akira to here when I asked you about this, but he may be able to give a different view so... Here goes... I... I want to propose to Tae."

Mishima's jaw dropped at that, so Kawakami continued, "I know I only introduced you two to each other recently, but we've been dating for nearly an entire ten years now - we met back in middle school and were good friends then started dating when we were both fifteen- and I just... I love her. I... I love her so much..."

For a long moment, there was total silence. But, eventually, Mishima came to a decision...

"Do you know her stance on marriage in general?" he asked before he voiced his opinion. Kawakami hesitated for a moment before stuttering out something about Takemi thinking marriage was good, if both parties were truly in love and completely faithful. Mishima hummed a note of understanding before smiling reassuringly at his aunt and stating, "Then I think you should do it."

"Really?" Kawakami gasped, to which Mishima nodded. The woman seemed to consider her words, but ultimately sighed and timidly muttered, "But... What if she says no?"

"You have a really strong relationship, and have been together for an entire decade, Aunt. Even if she isn't ready to get married, she loves you, and she won't just _dump you_. Not over this..." Mishima replied, voice soft and sweet as he smiled at Kawakami. That seemed to do the trick, since the woman visibly relaxed. Although, she was quick to tense again...

"I... _How_ do I ask her?" she gasped, eyes wide as she stared at Mishima. The teen in question sighed and settled in for a long hour or so. Internally, he apologised to Akira for the fact that their date would be set back an hour or however long Kawakami would be there before asking the woman when she and Kawakami had gotten together...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

In the end, Mishima and Akira never did get their date. Instead, Kawakami insisted on talking until Akira had to leave to catch his train, and even then she didn't want to stop... Mishima made her though, at least long enough for him to walk Akira to the nearby train station. Kawakami stayed at Mishima's as the teens went, so they at least had a few minutes to themselves...

"I'm sorry about my aunt... And that we didn't really get to have a date..." Mishima spoke softly as soon as he and Akira were out of the house, pouting a tiny bit. Akira shrugged, murmuring something about not minding because he was at least able to cuddle Mishima, which made the bluenette blush and splutter out, "I... Akira! That... You-"

"It's just the truth," Akira cut him off with a fond smile, his left hand finding Mishima's right and intertwining their fingers. That simple action (along with those words and that look) made Mishima's heart stop, but he hid his mini heart attack behind an embarrassed smile and a soft giggle. He still felt guilty, though, something Akira seemed to pick up on. Instead of getting annoyed or feeling bad, Akira smiled softly and muttered, "We can have another date soon. Hopefully without any interruptions this time..."

The reminder of their 'interruptions' made Mishima's heart flutter. That's maybe four times they'd been interrupted when they were close to kissing... Despite himself, Mishima couldn't help but feel a little... annoyed at the fact that he hadn't been able to kiss Akira yet. Sure, he hadn't been the one to initiate the near-misses (or near- _kisses_ ), but that was because he wanted to wait for Akira. He wanted Akira to make the first move, so he was sure Akira actually wanted to kiss him... To be sure Akira actually wanted _him_... Akira was oblivious to Mishima's thoughts, thankfully, so continued on to suggest, "Why don't we try again tomorrow?"

Mishima felt a stab of guilt as he pouted, squeezing Akira's hand lightly and grumbling, "I can't tomorrow. I've got a school thing..."

Akira made a curious noise so, ignoring his embarrassment, Mishima forced out, "I... Just... It's nothing, just a meeting with the school council. Ap... Apparently they're considering having me go to this speech thing..."

"That doesn't sound like nothing... It sounds pretty impressive..." Akira stated, tilting his head as he watched Mishima curiously. The shorter teen blushed at that, ducking his head and mumbling something about probably not making the cut anyway. Of course, Akira didn't like Mishima talking badly about himself, so he stopped in the middle of the path, halting Mishima with him. Before the bluenette could even ask why Akira had stopped, he had reached up and cupped Mishima's cheek, meeting his eyes and whispering, "I've never seen yougive a speech, Yuuki, but if you're even half as good at it as you are with everything else you do, you'll do amazing."

Mishima spluttered at that, trying to argue, but Akira cut him off but pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, murmuring against the soft skin, "I believe in you, Yuuki..."

That simple sentence made Mishima falter. He... _Oh_. Something about hearing that Akira believed in him was... It was special. It made his heart flutter and his cheeks burn, but also filled him with some kinda warmth, one he hadn't felt in a long time... It made tears well in his eyes, sharp and stinging, so he shut his eyes and leaned into Akira's hand, whispering a soft. "I... Okay..."

Akira seemed pleased by that, kissing Mishima's forehead before pulling away. Mishima instantly missed his warmth, but didn't argue as they began to walk again. After all, if they'd stayed too long, Akira would've missed his train... 

The rest of the walk passed in complete silence, and they arrived just as Akira's train did. Mishima couldn't help but pout as he let go of Akira's hand, but he forced himself to smile as he said, "Get home safe, love."

Akira echoed him sweetly, brushing a kiss to his cheek before boarding the train. Mishima stayed where he was until the train was out of sight, his heart aching already, but eventually forced himself to head home. After all, his aunt needed his help...

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I did rewrite what happened to Akechi! Sue me! I actually kinda relate to him and probably would be a lot more like him if I hadn't had my brother and sister with me, so I wanted him to have a redemption arch. Fight me.


End file.
